Contaminated soil around a former wood treatment plant in northeast Edmonton continues to pose a health risk, officials said Thursday, as they announced plans to dig deeper into elevated rates of three kinds of cancer in the area.

Alberta Health officials said they will be working with federal health experts on an epidemiological study around the former Domtar site to examine why the number of breast, endometrial and lung cancer cases were higher than expected among adults who have lived in the area for more than a decade.

“I want to be very clear, this data on its own does not indicate why there are higher rates for these three types of cancer for the area,” Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said at a Thursday news conference. “Many factors could contribute to an increased risk of cancer. This includes factors such as medical history, medication use and tobacco use, among others.”

The Domtar plant, which operated from 1924 to 1987 north of Yellowhead Trail, used toxic chemicals to treat railroad ties, poles, posts and lumber.

The update from Alberta Health come almost exactly one year after the province first warned about 140 homeowners in the Verte Homesteader neighbourhood about contaminated soil in the area. At that time, the province issued a series of environmental orders against companies connected to the 37-hectare property, a large portion of the site was fenced off and warning signs were posted telling people to stay off the land.

In a statement Thursday, Cherokee officials said the company has “strong concerns” that the information released by the government only adds to confusion and “provides unsubstantiated information to community members about potential health risks.”

Alberta Health’s Hinshaw said it will take up to a year before results of the health study are publicly available. The work will probe further into:

34 cases of breast cancer in women, where it would have expected 16 to 31 cases at similar rates to the general population;

14 cases of endometrial cancer in women, where it would have expected three to nine cases;

And 22 cases of lung cancer in men, where six to 14 cases would have been expected.

In the meantime, the province is recommending women who have lived in the area for a decade or more consult with their doctors about starting breast cancer screenings at the age of 40, instead of the typical recommended age of 50.

Jim Ames has lived in the area for more than 30 years. He said everyone involved has handled the situation poorly.

“I feel that there is a pathetic failure of the province, of Domtar and the city,” said Ames. “If they’ve known something was wrong, why haven’t they done anything about it?”

He said a well was put up behind his property in 1993 for testing but he hadn’t heard of any issues until recently.

Ames said he’s spoken to a number of his neighbours, who all worry for their health, but he believes the issues stemming from the contamination reach beyond that.

“It’s not just health issues, it’s property values. You think somebody will come along and offer me anything close to my true value when they see a fence up there with a sign that says keep out?”

He is now calling on the government to improve communications with affected residents.

“In a nutshell, no, I’m not happy with anybody,” said Ames.

History of Domtar site

The wood preservation plant owned by Domtar used creosote, pentachlorophenol and other toxic chemicals to treat wood products.

Despite remedial efforts by Domtar after the plant was decommissioned, some residual effects remain, including creosote, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins and furans.

In 2010, Cherokee bought the site with plans to build a 1,200-unit development. The company also planned to build a dirt berm to contain the contamination and allow for natural remediation.

Then, in 2015, Cherokee said the province informed the company that the berm was unauthorized.

This created a series of back-and-forth disputes between the two sides over the authorization of the berm. Concerns also were raised after testing by Alberta Environment revealed unacceptable levels of substances such as benzene, naphthalene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins and furans, lead and thallium.

In December 2016, Alberta Environment issued an enforcement order and an environmental protection order. The following month, Cherokee challenged both orders and any remediation efforts for the site have been stalled as the matter went before the Environmental Appeals Board.

The board has since made its recommendations and Shannon Phillips, minister of environment and parks, is reviewing the still-private report in detail.

Remediation efforts and Cherokee’s response

Alberta Environment’s regional executive director Randall Barrett said remediation efforts will need to start on the site as soon as ground conditions improve in the spring. However, the province is prepared to take on the work if Cherokee does not immediately do so.

John Dill, managing director of Cherokee, said in a statement that his company is puzzled at the timing of Thursday’s announcement, which he said comes after “issue of health risk and the appropriate standards and scientific criteria for remediation of certain chemicals of concern has already been addressed at the Environmental Appeals Board” during the 12-day hearing last year.

“Raising the spectre of health risk without substantiation and erroneously drawing a link to the development site, raises more questions and detracts from the rigorous process undertaken by the board to review the department’s actions toward Cherokee,” Dill said, adding he is concerned the orders are an attempt to influence the environment minister’s response to that appeals board report.